ISRAEL AT WAR
"When Greta addresses the Israel-Hamas war superficially and dismissively, it inevitably weakens the validity of her climate-related positions"
The Swedish environmental activist has faced backlash after posting a photo in which she and her friends held a sign reading "Free Palestine."
Greta Thunberg, the world's most famous climate activist, has come out against Israel, drawing fire from internet users, as well as environmentalists in Israel who are distancing themselves from her. "When Greta addresses a different topic superficially and dismissively, it inevitably weakens the validity of her climate-related positions. People from all walks of life might think that the shallowness she displayed on the other issue could cast doubt on the seriousness and depth of her climate activism. Those with vested interests could exploit this to portray climate activists as unserious and lacking depth. Therefore, even without addressing the ethical and moral implications she ignored, Greta is no longer a role model for us in the climate change context. We have plenty of other figures to look up to," Israeli environmental organization Adam, Teva, V'Din (‘man, nature and justice’) said in a statement.
On Friday, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who successfully mobilized the world for a global climate strike about four years ago, posted a picture on Twitter and Instagram of her and her friends holding signs that read "Free Palestine," "Stand with Gaza," "This Jew Supports Palestine," and "Climate Justice Now."
Thunberg, who has more than 5 million followers, tweeted that "Today we strike in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza. The world needs to speak up and call for an immediate ceasefire, justice and freedom for Palestinians and all civilians affected."
About an hour later Thunberg deleted the tweet, which had already garnered many angry responses, after she said that it was pointed out to her that a blue octopus doll in the photo is an antisemitic symbol. This image was used in Nazi propaganda in the 1930s, with the blue octopus symbolizing Jews who the Nazis claimed were trying to control the world through financial means. Thunberg reposted the tweet without the doll and claimed that she was unaware of its symbolic meaning, saying it was a doll that helps people on the autism spectrum express their emotions.
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The tweet has been seen by 23 million people so far and has received about 210,000 likes and 36,000 comments. Many Israelis reacted angrily to the tweet, calling Thunberg a "Hamas supporter." Ella Kinan, a travel blogger who has been intensively covering the events on the ground on social media for the past two weeks, tweeted in response: "Hello Everyone from around the world! Please read this next sentence: Greta Thunberg forgot to mention that Hamas slaughtered, raped and beheaded 1500 Israelis. It's an ISIS-like terror organization that its charter clearly mentions the killing of all those who are non-Muslim. Hamas is the sole cause of suffering in Gaza & Israel alike. @GretaThunberg supports ISIS."
At the end of the weekend, environmentalist Rony Bruell, founder of the Israeli Forum of Women in the Environment, wrote a letter responding to Thunberg, which has already been co-signed by more than 250 Israel environmentalists, including academics, researchers, business people, and activists. The letter, addressed to Thunberg, said that they "are deeply hurt, shocked and disappointed with your tweets and posts regarding Gaza, which are appallingly one-sided, ill-informed, superficial and are in complete contrast to your ability to deep dive into details and get to the bottom of complex issues - at best. But to be more accurate, by expressing them you take sides with terrorists, with the worst and darkest representatives of Humans, and plainly - with the wrong side of history.
“Do you think Hamas represents human rights and freedom? Think again! On Saturday, October 7th a brutal massacre took place in Israel. So far, we have counted 1,400 bodies of babies, children, women and men. All brutally murdered, shot, burned alive, molested before their deaths, raided by terrorists in their homes, in a music festival and randomly on the streets. Hundreds of people were kidnapped to Gaza, ages ranging from 9 months to 90 years old, including babies and people with severe illnesses (like cancer, heart failure, Parkinson) without their medication, and people with special needs such as autism and dementia, and many more are still missing.”
The letter continued, "Is this the way you imagine fighting for human rights? With cold-blooded killings of civilians, violent rape of women, and kidnapping of infants and the elderly? We would like for you to learn about Dr. Shoshan Haran, Founder and President of "Fair Planet", a nonprofit organization that aims at the success of smallholder farmers in developing countries. We are sure you will find her work and the values of the organization and this amazing woman similar to your own. Shoshana and 7 other members of her family have been missing since that gruesome black Saturday attack. The body of her husband was identified earlier this week. Does any of this sound like a part of the fight for freedom? Are you seriously standing with the people who hold a grandmother with her grandchildren for over 14 days?”
Finally, they added, “We urge you to look again at the atrocities conducted by Hamas, to read the stories of those who are no longer with us, to look at the pictures of those held in captivity and learn more about the conflicts in our region. We expect you and your family will never have to run for your lives and lose sleep worrying for your loved ones, but if this ever happens, we promise not to side with your abusers.”
Explain Israel, the largest Israeli information organization which provides reliable and up-to-date explanations to the world in over 30 languages, sent a video response to Thunberg and her followers worldwide condemning her blatant disregard for the reality in Israel. Dr. Michal Bitterman, CEO of environmental organization The Natural Step Israel, was featured in the video and wrote, "Dear @GretaThunberg this message is for you. You are wrong, so wrong - you are not only irresponsible - your call is dangerous.” Bitterman castigated Thunberg for making no mention of the 1,400 Israelis slaughtered or 220 hostages taken by Hamas.
In the video Bitterman says that "Hamas is not a legitimate liberation movement. It is ISIS - a ruthless, inhumane terrorist organization. Your endorsement of terrorism of the worst possible kind not only breaks my heart, it allows Hamas to use the people in Gaza as human shields, and it endangers children worldwide. Your fight for the planet deals with what is right. How did you get it so wrong? This is not integrity - it is a distortion of reality. What happened in Israel happened to the whole world. Is this the kind of environment you want the world to live in?"
Thunberg did not retract her statement but tweeted on Saturday in response to the numerous angry reactions and images of kidnapped children that flooded her Twitter: "It goes without saying - or so I thought - that I’m against the horrific attacks by Hamas. As I said, the world needs to speak up and call for an immediate ceasefire, justice and freedom for Palestinians and all civilians affected." She continued to make no mention of Israelis murdered or kidnapped by Hamas.
